Japanese WWII battle flags and the healing process

Processing the aftermath of war on a person’s psyche and soul is a complicated subject. Probably one of the biggest societal shifts the Global War on Terror has brought is our understanding and recognition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other combat-related conditions. Everyone can recall those old veterans, be they from WWII, Korea, and increasingly […]

Marine Corps to ground fleet of KC-130T Aircraft & Blue Angels put Fat Albert on leave

In the wake of the tragic crash of one of their KC-130T aircraft where 16 people died the Marine Corps are grounding their fleet. It was also announced that the Navy’s Blue Angels transport C-130 aircraft nicknamed “Fat Albert” is going to remain on the ground until more information about the crash is determined. Two separate investigations […]

MARSOC Critical Skills Operators Worthy of Their WWII Lineage

The Marine Corps hadn’t had a Special Operations unit since World War II, but all of that changed in 2003 when on June of that year, the Marine Corps and USSOCOM formed Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One (MCSOCOM Det 1) to explore unit level Marine Corps participation in USSOCOM. Prior to this, Marine […]

Amid possible surge, Marines help Afghans ‘shape the battlefield’

As the U.S. considers sending more troops to Afghanistan, Marines in Helmand province recently showed how U.S. advisers can help Afghan security forces take the fight to the Taliban. In June, Afghan troops and police resupplied two battalions in Marjah as part of Maiwand Three, an operation named after a major battle in the Second […]

Picture of the Day: MH-53E Sea Dragon Conducting Aerial Refueling

An MH-53E Sea Dragon assigned to the “Vanguards” of Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron (HM) 14 conducts an aerial refuel off the coast of North Carolina. Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 performed the air to air refueling exercises with HM-14 in a joint effort to improve interservice readiness. – US Navy Watch: Mid-air Refueling Up […]

Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Gear

The Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa Japan had to be one of my favorite deployments. Learning how to operate and survive in a jungle environment is vastly different than a desert or woodland environment. There are also threats native to the jungle that you must be aware of. I remember attending a […]

Watch: The Marines show you a better way to cook bacon, with a suppressor

Watch as U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 5 Christian P. Wade conducts an experiment to see if a suppressor will get hot enough to cook bacon in volume 2 of The Gunner Fact or Fiction series titled, “Cooking Bacon the American Way.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGJvTaPn5K4 Image and video courtesy of DoD